Sybil, Muse of the Desert
History Aal's Brush began as a port city for the empire of Valencia. Located on a fertile strip of land where the sand meets the southern sea it wasn't limited in exports or imports by the narrow pass through the Argos mountains, the only land path into the Great Desert. With exposure to other cultures came a boom in the arts and culture. The normally reserved, disciplined monks relaxed over generations. Sexual liberation came, and an appreciation for beauty. It declared independence from Valencia after the war against the west ended. It had been instrumental in repelling the invaders from the fertile west, though perhaps no one turned the tides as much as the Desert itself. It remained on good terms with its former mother kingdom, remaining the primary conduit of goods between the eastern sand kingdom and the west. Artistic interest swept across the populace as the finest goods from both sides of the continent frequently passed through its markets. The artisians and performers refined their talents with the best examples from both worlds, until the goods produced in Aal's Brush were finer than either could hope to produce. Politics and Culture Politics are very simple in Aal's Brush. Being a critical trade hub with fantastic artistic goods no one is particularly interested in attacking the city. It has no particularly rare or valuable natural resources, relying mostly on fantastic craftsmanship and sheer positioning to establish economic dominance. Foreign affairs often boil down to fawning over the Queen or her daughters enough to secure a trade license for your village. A pretty face helps. Pretty faces help a lot in general. The appreciation for art and beauty has become an obsession over the generations. The belief that an artist's first canvas is themselves is deep in the populace, and a merely pleasant visage is seen as a lack of artistic spirit. People who don't meet the exceedingly steep bar of beauty are... encouraged to seek their fortunes elsewhere. While presented as a respect for presentation this beauty requirement is as vain as one might fear. Races with non standard beauty, goblins, orcs, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and various others rarely find anyone willing to sell them a residence in the city. Such people are frozen out by listings that "just got purchased" or "aren't ready yet". It doesn't take long to realize that, while you're welcome to visit, you're not welcome to stay. This obsession also manifests in a matriarchal society. The female form is the height of beauty. A man's body may be functional, perhaps even beautiful, but it lacks the nuance of curvature. It doesn't display the delicate dichotomy of firmness and softness, potency and warmth, fragility and strength. Men's ideas are often dismissed, and they're seen as simple people who are too detached for real insight. They're treated with kindness, but can face discrimination when seeking positions of authority. Over generations this selective discrimination against those who don't fall within the kingdom's idea of beauty has pruned the populace. People born in the city never need to worry about their looks, both of their parents came from good stock after all. Change can be difficult when the privileged are the only ones allowed to speak, but dissent does exist. Religion Aal is still the state religion in Aal's Brush. Aal's teachings encourage compassion, discipline, self improvement, and constant struggle against your circumstances in order to improve them for yourself and others. In the rest of the Desert Aal's clerics act as guides, mediators, teachers, and guardians of the weak. They champion progressive social change and compassion for misunderstood peoples. They are the rare few with the fortitude and determination to weather the Black Desert alone. In Aal's Brush priestesses have put their own spin on Aal's teachings. Progressing one's craft is paramount, as is heightening one's beauty. A person should always be kind to the poor, and try to brighten other people's day. Love should be embraced, as through love the world gains light and joy. The discipline falls by the wayside, replaced by a warm and nurturing smile. They have their disagreements with the orthodoxy, but are still seen as a legitimate branch of the faith. Civics and Laws Aal's Brush is a permissive society. What couples do behind closed doors is their own business. They have most of the laws you'd expect, with a noticeable lack of public decency laws. Sex acts are not permitted in public spaces, but partial nudity is allowed. Full nudity is permitted so long as it is part of a performance, and even then this law is often only enforced against the merely beautiful portion of the population, never against the radiant. Threats The Eclipse Lizardfolk native to the Argos mountains are a constant threat to any settlement or oasis near the border separating Western and Eastern Valencia. They raid farmland to the west of the city infrequently, preferring to make easier prey of land bound caravans through the narrow mountain pass. (Ecl 3-7 average) To the far east of Aal's Brush are the Titanum Grippli. This tribe of frog people is hostile to travelers. Known for their shamanistic magic and elementalists they prove fearsome opponents in their territory. Every so often during spawning their territory expands into some of the kingdom's farmland and outer villages. With violent results. (Ecl 1-4 average) The Black Desert is a threat to everyone in the Valencia region. This stretch of ominous desert is home to ancient, dark magic left behind by long forgotten civilizations. The Seito clan patrols the black desert from their home in Valencia's capitol city, but even desert foxes can't be everywhere. Incursions happen rarely, and even then its only a scouting force. The power of these strange forces is immeasurable, however, and it often falls to adventurers or timely intervention by Seito mystics to prevent the destruction of more than a couple villages. (Ecl 9-11 average)